Chad Henne couldn’t look like Tom Brady if he was wearing a flesh suit made out of Tom Brady’s skin.

southpaw2k says:Oct 4, 2011 10:45 AM

Top five spots are 100% correct. And if the Ravens come back from their bye week and thump the Texans, they should move into the top three.

clintonportisheadd says:Oct 4, 2011 10:45 AM

The Ravens are ranked way too high.

They will never be a top 10 team until they get a REAL franchise QB to run the offense.

gcsuk says:Oct 4, 2011 10:47 AM

17. Redskins (No. 18; 3-1): Don’t complain, Redskins fans, about going up only one spot. Beating the Rams by only seven could be regarded as a reason to fall five.
———————————————————————–
I’m a Giants fan, and even I think this ranking is ridiculous. If this is your reasoning, then why do the Bears move up 2 after beating Carolina at home by 5? Don’t the Skins have the better record anyway?

I am a long time Lions fan. And I’ve got to admit, the Lions and Bucs are both rated a touch too high in this one. Neither has team has looked anything close to dominant in the last few weeks.

But hey—4-0, I’m not complaining.

tjp2033 says:Oct 4, 2011 10:51 AM

I know you hate the Eagles and all but at least get your facts straight. The Eagles D-Line has 15 sacks this season. That hardly sucks. Granted the rest of the defense has been under performing, the D-Line has been one of the few bright spots on this team.

jdandcoke says:Oct 4, 2011 10:51 AM

nice to see someone put the paper tiger redskins where they belong. decent enough team but grossman will always be a borderline bum. i STILL think that the skins can finish in last place in that division….and definately no higher than third.

umbskinsfan says:Oct 4, 2011 10:52 AM

redskins are 17, cuz we only beat the rams, but the giants are 9, after fluking their way into a win against the cardinals?

The Skins at 17?? were a play from going 4-0 and we beat the Giants who are somehow ranked 9th? The Giants beat the Eagles, Cardinals, and Rams! We beat the Cardinals, Rams, and GIANTS, what gives? When will PFT give my team any semblance of love? We lead the league in sacks and opposing third down conversion rate and our D is top 5. The Falcons and Bears should be ranked behind us as both are overrated and play no defense. I might be a bit bias but you guys need to get off your high horses and show my team a little bit of respect. We at least are better than last year! The Skins have a good chance of going to the playoffs because of a easy schedule!

mumakata says:Oct 4, 2011 10:53 AM

Where are they going to be ranked when the Jets don’t win a game again until November 17th?

We DO miss Hass here in Seattle. However, he would get destroyed behind our current line. The man is pure class and I am glad he is having success in Tennessee.

squabbbler says:Oct 4, 2011 10:58 AM

Statistically, there is no reason for the Steelers to be ranked above the Titans right now. They’ve dropped one more game than the Titans and the Titans thumped the Ravens, who thumped the Steelers. And after beating the Steelers, the Texans vault eight spots? Based on this blog’s erred valuation of the Steelers, should the Titans beat them this weekend, can we expect the Titans to move eight spots next week?

They will never be a top 10 team until they get a REAL franchise QB to run the offense.

Granted, Flacco is a middle tiered quaterback, but the Ravens defense is playing lights out. They are reminiscent of the Super Bowl D in 2000. And might I remind you that their quarterback was another middle tiered guy named Trent Dilfer.

IMO, Ravens are #3. I believe they are superior to the Lions. If the two teams played today the Ravens would beat them without a doubt. Suh is good, Ngata is great.

Ravens are #3, only New Orleans and Green Bay are capable of competing with this team. The Ravens will go very far this year with their average quarterback. Mark my words.

17. Redskins (No. 18; 3-1): Don’t complain, Redskins fans, about going up only one spot. Beating the Rams by only seven could be regarded as a reason to fall five.
_______________
LOL – the hate continues….. MFlo is just embarassed at his prediction of the Skins being the 31st ranked team in week 0….. thats ok, keep hating and keep picking against us….. oh yeah, the Giants are DEFINITELY 8 spots higher, right? The team we handled in week 1, with the same record? Who shouldn’t have beat the Cards? Makes sense.

Once again you show that you don’t actually watch football….. Skins were up 17-0 on Rams, dominating, and driving again, when Moss had his first drop of the year, right into the defenders hands. The only reason the game was even close.

Skins dominated that game for more than 3+ quarters.
Total yards – Skins 339 to 172
Time of possession – Skins 35 to 25

you beat the giants with BOTH of their all pro DE’s missing the game…..give it a rest about how you “handled” the giants. let orakpo and kerrigan miss a game together and see how badly the skins would get pummelled. these rankings arent about who beat who a month ago.

Giants at 9? Haha yeah right. Skins at 17?!?!?!? With that D, and the 3 headed attack at RB they’ll be able to hang with just about anyone.
Bucs at 8? Don’t get me wrong they are on the up and up but they’re not really dominating anyone. We all watched the same MNF game right?

barneyrumble says:Oct 4, 2011 11:23 AM

The Rams and Fins must really really really suck to be worse than my Blue and Shoe Colts with Curtis Painter at the helm. Yeah the Colts are playing hard. They are pros and are supposed to but how bad are the Fins and Lambs? Wow!

See this why you guys are a bunch of moron’s so the Skins only beat the Rams by 7 but beat the Giants by 14 yet the Giants are ranked @ 9

9. Giants (No. 12; 3-1): Even though the call was right, we’ve got a feeling that Victor Cruz won’t ever leave a ball on the ground again. Anywhere.

10. Bills (No. 5; 3-1): Well, at least they won’t start 4-0 and then fall apart like they did in 2008.

11. Steelers (No. 8; 2-2): Though it’s easy to be skeptical about Ben Roethlisberger’s injury, keep in mind that the boy who cried wolf eventually was eaten by a wolf.

12. 49ers (No. 17; 3-1): We’d hate to see how many yards Frank Gore would have had against the Eagles if he didn’t have a bad ankle.

13. Bears (No. 15; 2-2): If Matt Forte runs for 205 yards with his contract supposedly serving as a distraction, the Bears should keep him that distracted every week.

14. Titans (No. 20; 3-1): Maybe the Seahawks should have kept Matthew Hasselbeck. And maybe someone other than the Titans should have been in line to get him.

15. Raiders (No. 10; 2-2): Based on his boast that the Raiders will win the division, coach Hue Jackson caught a case of RexRyanitis from his postgame handshake with the Jets head coach.

16. Falcons (No. 16; 2-2): If the Falcons lose another one to Green Bay at home, the naming rights to the Georgia Dome should be sold to the Packers.

17. Redskins (No. 18; 3-1): Don’t complain, Redskins fans, about going up only one spot. Beating the Rams by only seven could be regarded as a reason to fall five.

And what’s with the Steelers, Bears, Falcons and Raiders all 2-2 ahead of the Skins??? Until the Giants beat the Skins or the Skins have a worse record than the Giants they should still remain ahead of them…

ravensfan4life52 says:Oct 4, 2011 11:29 AM

you can heckle Flacco all you want but the Jets have the best CB tandem in the NFL. Flacco is the truth. And our D! C’MON SON!

NoRespect says:Oct 4, 2011 11:32 AM

jdandcoke

You want to talk about injuries. If Laron Landry wasn’t injured, you wouldn’t even have scored once. No matter how good your defense would have done with those two back, our defense still scores the winning TD.

Btw did anyone notice how the officials were actively trying to keep the Steelers in the game? It was truly disgusting. Texans fans know exactly what I’m talking about.

I hate how the officials in this league play favorites with certain teams.
——————————————————–
Yeah…. The refs made Daniel Manning totally demolish the kicker from behind while he was 15 yards behind the returner on the blocked field goal.
The refs picked up one of the Texans and threw him directly into Ben’s knees in the endzone.
It was the official who grabbed Casey Hampton’s facemask and rode him to the ground like a bull, and negated that 20 yard pass to the Tight End. Get over it! The Texans made some bone headed penalties out there. Jesus man, give it a rest…

guvsta says:Oct 4, 2011 11:37 AM

Even as a Dolphins fan, I wonder if we’ve been ranked too high

o37garcia says:Oct 4, 2011 11:37 AM

@nflfollower – I’m a Bucs fan & I can tell your a bandwagon fan because the Loins & Bucs are right where we’re supposed to be..

Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. I know it’s just Week 4 and this ranking can very well change from top to bottom within a two week span. For the Skins fans, I guess I can understand your feelings, reasonings and frustration. I am a Giants fan, I am, of course, pleased by our top ten ranking. But this means nothing at this stage of the games. YES, the Skins are right there on top of the NFC East. But seriously, and as one of you said, they have a real good chance of making the playoffs due highly to their soft schedule. And maybe even more so because of the performance of their defense. So with that being said, why complain of your ranking? IF, and that is a big if, the Skins are a real deal, they will take care of the games their supposed to take care off, and win some that will be tough games. They should be at the top five in about two or three weeks and should be the only one standing after the Super Bowl. But before that, come on, it’s a long season and things have a way of happening, like losing or winning streaks. Let’s get back on this discussion after the season and I, myself, will apologize for your Week 4 ranking and send this fools a complaint, if the Skins win it all. Other than that, let’s enjoy the games and see who comes out alive in the end.

They have made so many different personel errors with this team. // Taking the best cover corner tandem and playing zone. keeping 7th rounders as starting LBs. huge holes in the offensive line.DL average is 270 lbs.. & most running backs are bigger than the LBs.

They have made so many different game planninge errors with this team. // running a wide 9 with terrible LBs and no run defenders. PLAYCALLING is terrible.

They let the worst offense in the league come in to their house and put up 24 point on em in one half.

They can’t stop even the worst morose running game. & andy reid is still the coach.

bcar1023 says:Oct 4, 2011 11:45 AM

Y’all realize that crying over these “rankings” is akin to pi$$ing in the wind, right? Did I miss the announcement where the playoff slotting will now be performed by PFT’s power rankings?

How many games will it take for you to realize that the Stealers (yeah, I meant to spell it with an ‘a’) dont even belong in the top 20?? #11?? REALLY?? When will your school boy crush with this team end?

I’m a skins fan who has absolutely no problem with them being ranked #17. Middle of the pack seems about right for them right now. The defense is good and the offense is serviceable, but it’s hard to get a read on whether they will improve over time or we’ll see too much “bad Rex” going forward.

My only complaint is the rest of the division, especially the Giants. There is simply no reason to believe that the Giants are also anything other than average in the league. The entire NFC East features no dominant team, but no doormats this year.

HOW! How, how, how, how are the Steelers still ranked so high?! They’re so bad, almost lost to the Colts, and were lucky to even be competitive with the Texans… HOW are they still #11?! It was already bad enough that they were still Top 10 last week!

Freaking ridiculous how much the media holds out hope for them to have a single decent game to point at for justification. The next game they win on their cupcake schedule, they’ll vault up 5 spots. But they’re so bad.

ottograham says:Oct 4, 2011 12:05 PM

take it easy Southpaw its only week 4 headed into week 5. The Steelers still have alot more losing to do before being dropped down below top 12. As the Skins and other average teams from the past have alot more winning to do to prove themselves..

So dont be butt hurt just yet that your hated Steelers arent off the map or your average team isnt in the top ten. There is still 12 more games in the regular season. It will even itself out. SO please stop complaining cause you just sound like a bitter female.

And for those of you who have an issue with the calls from the Houston v. Pittsburgh game you should watch the film before making ignorant accusations. Flags are thrown for cheating and thats exactly what the Texans did all game long. None of you had an issue when flags were thrown on the Steelers last season. In fact you all embraced it. I call that hypocritcal ignorance. Thats all this site is made of. From writer to commenter.

They will never be a top 10 team until they get a REAL franchise QB to run the offense.

————————————————-

So Flacco having two of the best games of his career to date in weeks 1 and 3 are, what, irrelevant?

And you do realize the Ravens have been ranked in the top five since week 2, right?

———————————–

Lets stick to facts shall we (and not some persons opinion rankings) Flacco is 23rd thru 4 games in total QBR. His turnovers (fumbles and interceptions) are equal to his touchdown throws. He can’t stretch the field since he has Pennington type arm strength. He hands off 44% of the time (near the top of the league) because it’s what he does best. You need a Rodgers or a Brees in the 2011 NFL. It’s a pass first league. The Raven plan (win 13-7 with it’s defense and low octane offense) is obsolete.

polishkingski says:Oct 4, 2011 12:29 PM

tell you what. i watched the bills vs bengals and the bengals have ALOT of talent. tough defence and firepower. do not take them lightly. they are for real.

Okay…im the BIGGEST lions fan there can be. But I honestly dont think they should be #3. Only because a top 3 team would not fall down 20+ before the half 2 weeks in a row to average/below average teams. Dont get me wrong, im pumped they have clawed back…twice…but they still have a lot of work to do. Maybe ranked 5 (Until they play a full 60)

scudbot says:Oct 4, 2011 12:32 PM

pfii63: up your meds.

EJ says:Oct 4, 2011 12:36 PM

Tom Brady may be throwing for hundreds of yards but their Defense sucks.
The Bills may have lost to the Bengals, but what does that say about the Patriots who lost to Buffalo?
No way should the Patriots be above Buffalo, period.

Browns fan here. I think you nailed it. Browns had a terrible home loss against a good Titans team that also took it to the Ravens. It doesn’t seem like the Browns should move up, but the other teams have worse problems.

And I’ll add this. I’d rather have a young team that doesn’t have it together but can grow and may still get it together (like the Lions have done) — than have an aging team that is on the downward slide (Stllrs).

ppdoc13 says:Oct 4, 2011 1:03 PM

what i find hilfreakinarious is that the foreskin fans have finally woken up from the doldrums and are talking trash. after your team run by rex grossman wins more than it loses and maybe even wins a playoff game then you can talk.

@clintoportishead – if you think that Joe Flacco has an arm like Chad Pennington, you just disqualified yourself from making any serious comments on this board. Flacco has one of the strongest arms in this game. He throws the best deep out in football. You know that one that whizzes past your lousy CB ear as they are mugging our WR’s.

Flaccos big issue is reading a cover 2 and dealing with complex blitzes which bother many young qbs, and while his rating this year is not to his normal, he is throwing to 3 new receivers in Dickson, Pitta, and Smith and doesn’t have Mason and Heap anyomore. By seasons end he will have his typical 61% completion rate. Meanwhile Rex Grossman will be sitting. John Beck will be screwing up. And Shanny will look like he needs an enema.

The Foreskins suck. And your opinion regarding the Ravens is absolutely freaking meaningless to anyone that knows anything about football. Other than that, have a nice day.

ottograham – you’re a moron seeing as how I’m not a Redskins fan. Nice try, though. And yeah, people cheered the Steelers getting flags thrown on them for a change, seeing as how they’ve won games and Superbowls DIRECTLY from favorable, bad calls from the refs.

cancelsundayticket says:Oct 4, 2011 1:14 PM

“Steelers (No. 8; 2-2): Though it’s easy to be skeptical about Ben Roethlisberger’s injury, keep in mind that the boy who cried wolf eventually was eaten by a wolf.”

IMO, Steeler fan or not, with the beating he’s taking game in and game out, he’s lucky a sprained foot is his only problem.

BTW, I’ll make sure to consult these power rankings when making my wagers for the weekend.

I want to be honest with Lion fans for a minute. I am happy for thier good start.

They also beat TB who seemed to have thier handsful with, Curtis Painter and o-line that was very inexpierienced.

They beat the Chiefs who only win, is from playing the Vikings.

They squeaked past the Vikings who are terrible argued to be the worst team int he league.

A nice comeback on an overrated Dallas team.

I don’t blame any Lions fans for being excited its been a long time coming, and good luck for the rest of the season.

ottograham says:Oct 4, 2011 1:23 PM

I used Redskins as an example of an average team making a run early in the season. But that renders me a moron, right? Really going to bring in calls from past superbowls to validate your lack of insight?
If youre referring to Superbowl 40 youre less of a man than i gave you credit for. Get over it dude. It was one push off penalty and bens rush TD couldve gone either way. You really think an average Seahawks team was going to win a championship?
I dont care who youre a fan of I am stating that these rankings down stand for anything. Youre opinions smell like an old lady fart passing through an onion. Keep it to yourself cause I just threw up in my mouth. “But you know in some cultures thats all they eat is vomit. Read it once… IN A BOOK.” -White Goodman

“I’m a Giants fan, and even I think this ranking is ridiculous. If this is your reasoning, then why do the Bears move up 2 after beating Carolina at home by 5? Don’t the Skins have the better record anyway?”

You do realize that Carolina is actually a really good team and the Rams are flat out awful, right? You probably don’t though, because you only pay attention to the record, and not the team’s actual performance.

Nevis says:Oct 4, 2011 1:35 PM

waltdawg says:
Oct 4, 2011 10:42 AM
SKINS MOVE UP ONLY 1? No respect….None at all….Keep on hating on the SKINS….Watch what happens to the Eagles in a couple of weeks. The Dream Team will be put to sleep, ala LaRon Landry

————————-

Yes, that was an impressive single-score W over an 0-3 team.

gassiusclay says:Oct 4, 2011 1:38 PM

NYG are #9????? are you out of your freaking mind? What games have you been watching? We [Redskins] beat the crap out of them…granted their D-Line was hurt, but their secondary wasn’t, nor were anyone on Offense.

BTW, I am good with up being down @ 17, but you have the Cowboys ranked under us? They beat us.

Since the Week 1 win over the Giants, the Redskins have looked bad. The Giants have looked good. The Power Rankings are meant to give a weekly ranking of how good teams have looked in recent weeks. The Redskins haven’t had any convincing wins, while the G-Men have beaten the Eagles and Rams by double digits. It’s just how it is. They’ve simply looked like the better team. Stop crying in your cheerios.

fringetastic says:Oct 4, 2011 1:55 PM

My only complaint with the list is that the 3-1 Chargers are #7 while the 3-1 Redskins are 17. Same record and both teams have struggled against bad teams, with the Chargers struggling MORE (Vikings, KC; Rams), so why the big difference in ranks?

richm2256 says:
Oct 4, 2011 12:44 PM
No problem putting GB over Detroit, but you have seriously got to get over your crush for the Saints. Detroit deserves #2.

New Orleans at 3-1 has the same record as several other teams, and two of those wins were over the Jags and Chicago.

Seriously.

And the Ravens over the Pat’s????

__
Better defense in Baltimore. And everyone knows that defense wins championships. Just look at what the Giants did to the vaunted Pats offense in the Super Bowl just a few short years ago. And what the Ravens D did to the Pats just last postseason. What…it pains you to remember how your team got pummeled? LMAO

20 is the right place for the Panthers. With injuries to key defensive players Beason and Davis, the Panthers have been in every game this season. 1-3 at the quarter pole is damn good for a team with the toughest schedule in the league.

PFTiswhatitis says:Oct 4, 2011 2:24 PM

@richm2256: it was 2 seasons ago. If you are going to talk smack at least get your facts straight loser. I hate to disappoint you but there is no way the Ravens get by any of the top teams. Not with Flacco running that offense.

PFTiswhatitis says:Oct 4, 2011 2:24 PM

Sorry that was for bozosforall

southpaw2k says:Oct 4, 2011 2:26 PM

gassiusclay says:
Oct 4, 2011 1:38 PM
NYG are #9????? are you out of your freaking mind? What games have you been watching? We [Redskins] beat the crap out of them…granted their D-Line was hurt, but their secondary wasn’t, nor were anyone on Offense.

BTW, I am good with up being down @ 17, but you have the Cowboys ranked under us? They beat us.

Who the hell made this list?

———————————————-

Staff writers at ProFootballTalk.com made this list – note the website you had logged into.

And while you may have a point about that the Redskins should be ranked higher than the Giants, I also think the Cowboys deserve to be ranked under you. They are completely impossible to determine who they are. They could be one of the top five teams in the league, but definitely not consistently. Power rankings aren’t just about who beat who, it’s based on who *CAN* beat who.

richm2256 says:Oct 4, 2011 2:33 PM

bozosforall says:
Better defense in Baltimore. And everyone knows that defense wins championships. Just look at what the Giants did to the vaunted Pats offense in the Super Bowl just a few short years ago. And what the Ravens D did to the Pats just last postseason. What…it pains you to remember how your team got pummeled? LMAO

—————————————————————-
Well, well, well ……. look who’s back.

And I was getting worried about the shortage of morons here?

Bozo, I’m fine when any team kick’s the Patriot’s a$$, but the examples you gave are from PREVIOUS seasons. The Power Rankings are for THIS season.

And THIS season the Patriots, despite the NFL’s worst defense, have definitely out-performed the Ravens.

Baltimore thrashed the Steelers, then lost to Tennesee, beat the might 0-4 Rams, and looked absolutely pathetic in beating the Yets.

New England got snookered by a very improved 3-1 Bills team, beat the pathetic 0-4 Fins, and turned in solid performances against two strong teams in Oakland and San Diego.

One quality win for the ‘birds against two for the Pats.

Let’s not even talk about your beloved 2-2 Yets.

richm2256 says:Oct 4, 2011 2:40 PM

PFTiswhatitis says:
Oct 4, 2011 2:24 PM
@richm2256: it was 2 seasons ago. If you are going to talk smack at least get your facts straight loser. I hate to disappoint you but there is no way the Ravens get by any of the top teams. Not with Flacco running that offense.

—————————————————————
What, exactly, was two seasons ago? Try making a little sense, Bunkie.

I stood up for the 4-0 Packers over the 4-0 Lions, the Lions over the 3-1 Saints, and the 3-1 Patriots over the 3-1 Ravens.

What facts did I not get straight?

richm2256 says:
Oct 4, 2011 12:44 PM
No problem putting GB over Detroit, but you have seriously got to get over your crush for the Saints. Detroit deserves #2.

New Orleans at 3-1 has the same record as several other teams, and two of those wins were over the Jags and Chicago.

okay, Lions at 3?? I like the Lions, as I have always liked to see a team that hasn’t done much in the past to do good, however, saying that there are 29 teams that are not better than the Lions is a stetch to say the least.

I love how the Lions are 4-0, and love how the Colts are 0-4, but, I would place Detroit around the 8-9 range… not the 3rd best team in football

turbodog1027 says:Oct 4, 2011 2:42 PM

The Giants and skins are going nowhere. NFC is ruled by the Saints and Pack, winner of rematch in Jan goes on to Indy. Everybody else is just playing for the bronze

southpaw2k says:Oct 4, 2011 3:01 PM

richm2256 says:
Oct 4, 2011 2:33 PM

Baltimore thrashed the Steelers, then lost to Tennesee, beat the might 0-4 Rams, and looked absolutely pathetic in beating the Yets.

New England got snookered by a very improved 3-1 Bills team, beat the pathetic 0-4 Fins, and turned in solid performances against two strong teams in Oakland and San Diego.

One quality win for the ‘birds against two for the Pats.

————————————————

Ravens also have given up nearly half as many points as the Patriots have, and also have the largest point differential in the NFL. Patriots may have an offense that could potentially put 40 points on the board every week, but as we all know a good defense outweighs a good offense. The Pats’ lack of D will come back to haunt them eventually, so the Ravens are rightfully ranked higher than them.

Dear gassiusclay.. The requirement on this website is that you actually watch football before you post.

flash1283 says:Oct 4, 2011 3:14 PM

bozosforall says:
Oct 4, 2011 2:01 PM

Better defense in Baltimore. And everyone knows that defense wins championships. Just look at what the Giants did to the vaunted Pats offense in the Super Bowl just a few short years ago. And what the Ravens D did to the Pats just last postseason. What…it pains you to remember how your team got pummeled? LMAO

—-
@bozosforall

Hey dumbass the Patriots beat Baltimore last season!!!!

You must be confused, it was your Steelers that got “pummeled” just a few weeks back by Baltimore.

MORON!

ravensfan4life52 says:Oct 4, 2011 3:21 PM

@clintonportisheadd

your parents must be very sad about how stupid you are. i almost feel bad for laughing at how idiotic you are…almost.

My only complaint with the list is that the 3-1 Chargers are #7 while the 3-1 Redskins are 17. Same record and both teams have struggled against bad teams, with the Chargers struggling MORE (Vikings, KC; Rams), so why the big difference in ranks?
——————–

Because the Bolts are just a better team top to bottom and only lost to the Patriots because of Philip Rivers’ career-worst game.

The Skins will finish the season 7-9 and will still be complaining about being ranked too low, while the Giants will be 11-5 and they will still be trying to rest on a FLUKY WEEK ONE GAME WITH HALF THE GIANTS’ STARTERS ON IR OR INACTIVE. Goodness gracious knock it off.

And people saying the Giants are average, with the best defensive line in football, and getting healthy bodies back are in need of a lobotomy STAT. We aren’t even hitting our stride on either side of the ball yet and are still getting it done.

CBS has the Redskins ranked 8th and NFL.com has them ranked 10th. This site is a joke. Its not about Grossman or Beck. There running game and defense will keep this team in the top 10. You may not like it, but this team is here to stay in contention. This year, and several years to come.

I have to say, I am enjoying reading the back and forth banter, but let’s get back to reality for a minute. Like most have stated here, these rankings do not, let me repeat, do not mean anything at this point, except maybe to hype some fans up (insert Skins fans here). Yes, the Pack and the Saints are early favorites, especially because they are the two previous Super Bowl winners and they are always in the running, not just on paper, but in the standings. But for everyone else, even the Giants, which I’m a fan of, the standing does not do anything for them, and it will not bring them to the playoffs or win them the championship. So for the Skin fans irate about their ranking…. GET OVER IT!!! Let’s just say, for argument’s sake, if the lowly Eagles beat a good Bills team next week, where should they be in the ranking? And, if the Eagles then beat the Skins the following week, where should the Skins rank? Come on, these are weekly rankings, and that’s the only thing they are. They do not predict who eventually will be in the Super Bowl and who wins it. And for the Skins fan, just be happy where you are, please get over it and enjoy how your team is playing. Yes, their quarterback and running back play have really picked up but as far as being contenders, not only this year, but for years to come, AGAIN, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. I believe someone already said it, “you haven’t won anything unless you win what really counts.” And I believe, everyone in this blog knows what I am talking about. Hope and pray that they don’t have another usual Skins meltdown like they usually do and actually make it fun and interesting, not just for the NFC East but for the NFC altogether. You should know the division needs it considering how the Eagles and the Cowboys seem to be giving away games of late.

“Lets stick to facts shall we (and not some persons opinion rankings) Flacco is 23rd thru 4 games in total QBR. His turnovers (fumbles and interceptions) are equal to his touchdown throws. He can’t stretch the field since he has Pennington type arm strength. He hands off 44% of the time (near the top of the league) because it’s what he does best. You need a Rodgers or a Brees in the 2011 NFL. It’s a pass first league. The Raven plan (win 13-7 with it’s defense and low octane offense) is obsolete.”

The fact is Flacco has one of the strongest arms in the league, and can throw a beaut of a deep ball. Another fact is that over his first three and a quarter seasons, Flacco has one of the best winning records of any quarterback, ever. Yet another fact is that over his first three seasons, he has more road playoff wins than anyone. He’s the only one to win at least one road playoff game in each of his first three seasons. I’ll grant that he had a heck of a lot of help with those feats, but I’m not about to denigrate him for being surrounded by a lot of talent. Yeah, he can occasionally throw a stinker of a game, especially against a really good defense. That aspect of his game might be a little worse at the moment, probably because he’s still building a rapport with some young receivers. I still would not be surprised if Flacco eventually becomes one of the best QBs in the league. If not, he’ll still be good enough to win a lot of games, given Ozzie’s penchant for getting great talent overall. If the Ravens do end up playing the Pats in this year’s playoffs, I think they’ll win. If they end up playing the Pack in Indy, well that they could lose. But maybe they won’t…